Washington’s latest fiscal fiasco has left our brave troops caught in the crossfire of a government shutdown now stretching into its second week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has turned down a standalone measure to secure military salaries, intensifying worries about delayed paychecks for service members while the broader shutdown mess drags on, as New York Post reports.
The shutdown kicked off on Oct. 1, 2025, after Congress failed to agree on a full funding plan. Back on Sept. 19, 2025, the House passed a seven-week stopgap measure that would have ensured troops’ pay, with every Republican and just one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voting in favor. Now, with no resolution in sight, the next military paycheck slated for Oct. 15, 2025, hangs in the balance.
Johnson’s refusal to entertain a new vote on military pay has sparked frustration among some, but he argues the House already acted responsibly. “We already had that vote. Every Republican and at least one Democrat had the common sense to say, ‘Of course, we want to pay our troops and our air traffic controllers and our Border Patrol agents, TSA, and everybody else,’” Johnson said. Well, Mr. Speaker, common sense seems to be in short supply when paychecks are delayed and families are left waiting.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., has been pushing a bill since last month to guarantee service members’ pay through early 2027, regardless of shutdowns. Her urgency is palpable, and rightly so—many military families live paycheck to paycheck.
Over the weekend, President Trump weighed in, promising Navy sailors at a football game that they’d get “every last penny” if the shutdown persists. That’s a bold assurance, but with troops staring down a financial cliff, words alone won’t pay the bills.
In the Senate, the funding bill has hit a wall, with 44 Democrats repeatedly blocking it from overcoming the 60-vote filibuster threshold since the shutdown began. Three senators who caucus with Democrats—John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and independent Angus King of Maine—have consistently voted to reopen the government, but it’s not enough. This partisan logjam is less about principle and more about posturing, while real Americans bear the cost.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have dug in their heels, rejecting the stopgap bill over its omission of Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions set to lapse at year’s end. Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., counter that such discussions can wait until a basic funding bill passes both chambers. Why hold military pay hostage over unrelated policy debates?
The longest government shutdown on record, a grueling 35 days from late 2018 to early 2019 during Trump’s first term, serves as a grim reminder of how long this could drag on. History shows these standoffs rarely end quickly, and the collateral damage is always felt by those least equipped to weather it.
Adding insult to injury, a draft memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget suggests not all furloughed federal workers will receive backpay when this shutdown finally ends. This flies in the face of a law signed during the 2018-2019 shutdown that guaranteed such compensation. It’s a bitter pill for dedicated public servants already sidelined by political gamesmanship.
Johnson, for his part, has expressed hope that furloughed workers will be made whole. “I hope that the furloughed workers receive back pay, of course. We have some extraordinary Americans who serve the federal government—they serve valiantly and they work hard,” he noted.
Continuing on backpay, Johnson added, “It has always been the case, that is tradition and I think it is statutory law, that federal employees be paid. And that’s my position. I think they should be.” Admirable sentiment, but without action, it’s just another promise in a town full of them.
Let’s be clear: our military members shouldn’t be pawns in Washington’s endless budget battles. They sacrifice enough without having to worry about whether their next paycheck will clear. If Congress can’t prioritize their financial stability, what exactly are we funding?
This shutdown saga is a textbook case of misplaced priorities, with progressive agendas and partisan brinkmanship overshadowing the needs of those who defend our freedoms. Both sides need to drop the theatrics and get a deal done—yesterday. Our troops, and countless federal workers, deserve no less.
